


Penny For Your Thoughts

by Fihyn



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Parenting, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Girls Kissing, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Marriage, Not Cheating, Rumors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 05:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11373525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fihyn/pseuds/Fihyn





	Penny For Your Thoughts

“…Lauren?”  
“Hmm?”

It’s unusual for her not to have my full attention as soon as she speaks. I’m sitting at our kitchen table, balancing the books from our most recent shipment. As winter draws to a close, I have to have everything ready to begin planting for spring again. I’ve always had a bit of trouble with mathematics, so it requires a great deal of concentration for me to-

Suddenly I realize that her tone is off and she hasn’t spoken up again. I quickly look up, the business ledger in front of me forgotten. Worry pierces my heart.  
My wife’s eyes are downcast, and she is clutching at the hem of her shirt, as if unsure what to do with her hands. Her posture is withdrawn, shoulders hunched, and there is a slight flush to her cheeks. She looks miserable.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” I stand from the table and reach out for her, and she pulls further back. I’m panicking now, but I try not to show it, simply letting my hands fall to my sides and waiting for her to gather her thoughts. She speaks again after a long pause.

“I heard you secretly gave Abigail a gift today…”

Dumbfounded, I can only stare at her. The words don’t make sense at first, and they flip around in my head while I try to decipher them. The realization hits after a moment, and my speechlessness doesn’t recover. She can’t possibly think…?  
Oh, but she can. She hesitantly meets my gaze and sees the distress there, instantly dropping her eyes to the floor once again.  
“Do I have to be suspicious of you?” She whispers, distraught, to drive the point home. At this point I’m struggling to breathe.

“Penny…” I sink back into the chair behind me and rub a hand over my face. “It’s not what you think.”  
This morning, our freshest batch of blueberry preserves had been ready. I’d loaded up a cart, and wheeled it into town, handing out jars to all of our friends, which is most of the town, quite honestly. That sweet, rich jam is one of Wildberry Farm’s specialties, and there’s more than enough to go around after a winter’s worth of aging.  
Abigail hadn’t been in the square with Sebastian and Sam as usual, so I’d gone up to find her by the lake outside the mines, practicing her music. She’d thanked me with a smile and I’d waved farewell, returning to the farm afterwards and enjoying the happy smiles from the community.

Well, except for one. Pam had shot me a pointed glare when I’d headed off in search of Abigail, and at the time, the gesture had confused me. But it made sense _now_ of course.  
See, Pam isn’t exactly happy that I married her daughter. My hope is that she’ll eventually come around of course - Penny and I have only been married a fortnight after all - and I’d like to be on good terms with my mother-in-law, since the same can’t exactly be said of my own mother. But for now, she’s constantly throwing barbed comments, casting glances of barely-hidden contempt. She must have thought this would be a perfect opportunity to give Penny some doubts of her own. And Abigail was the perfect scapegoat, considering she’d shown an interest in me as more than just friends in the past…

It’s a struggle to push away my anger at Pam before it can begin to fester. _I want to be on good terms with her._ I tell myself. _Grudges and good terms do not mix._  
“Penny, darling, I gave gifts to almost _everyone_ in town today. Our blueberry jam was ready this morning, remember? I was only making the rounds… Abigail wasn’t with her friends so I went to look for her so she wouldn’t be left out. But I… I’m sorry.” I’m searching my wife’s face, still turned away from me, pleadingly. “I didn’t realize that would upset you… I would _never_ want to do anything to hurt you, please, believe that? Next time if I don’t see her around I’ll leave it with Caroline at the store so she can give it to her later, I promise.”

There’s another leaden silence between us. Then suddenly my wife’s shoulders shake and she crumples, reaching up a hand to scrub at her face as the tears begin to fall.  
“Penny-!” I can’t hold myself back any longer and reach for her again, but thankfully, _thankfully_ , she rushes to me at the same moment and buries herself in my embrace, sobbing into my shoulder. In anyone else’s arms, she’d be tiny, but I’m so small myself. We’re nigh evenly matched, but I am stronger, more weathered around the edges. She is _mine_ to protect.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! You must think me so horrible for having such ugly thoughts, for doubting you-“  
I interrupt her cascade of apologies by planting a kiss against her cheek, brushing the tip of my nose against her temple, the dampness of her tears smearing onto my skin.  
“Penny, baby, it’s alright, don’t say such things. Of course I don’t think you’re horrible. I love you.”  
“I- I shouldn’t let mom g-get to me like that…”  
“Oh darling. Believe me, I understand. It’s hard to shake off a parent’s influence like that. We’ve only just gotten married after all, it’s going to take time. Don’t _torture_ yourself so much.”

She calms slowly, and I keep a tight hold around her shoulders. Finally, she draws back to arm’s length and I release her slowly, holding her gaze for a few seconds before stepping away to retrieve a cloth and run some cold water over it from the faucet.  
I bathe her face gently, wiping away the tearstains and brushing back her damp bangs, her orange locks curling against my fingers. Her face is still flushed, but she’s breathing more easily, and I pause twice to kiss her, once on the forehead, once on the lips.  
“I love you, Penny.”  
“I love you too, Lauren.”  
“I’ll be more careful with how I act around Abigail, so that no one, _not even your mother_ , can have doubts about us.”  
“…Thank you. And I won’t let mom jump to conclusions for me again. I’ll trust what _you_ say, before anyone else.”

I smile, and link our hands.  
“It’s been a long day. Maybe we should get some sleep.”  
“Time to tuck in?” She smiles hesitantly, a hint of her usual glow back in her eyes. “I made the bed and everything.”  
“Nothing more comfy than that.” I set the cloth aside and lead her to our room. We curl against each other under the covers; I lace my hands around her waist and pull her close, feeling her soft, warm heartbeat. Outside, the snow is melting.  
Spring will be here soon.


End file.
